Austin’s only state park, McKinney Falls, is in need of some love.

Located in east Austin, McKinney Falls is home to ample swimming, hiking, camping, bouldering, mountain biking, and fishing opportunities… but it’s currently struggling from a lack of funding and a consistent volunteer base. The visitors center has been closed for years, because of damages from Onion Creek flooding.

So how to fix it? Many state parks in Texas have nonprofit “friends” groups, made up of community volunteers who can help raise money for special projects at the park and donate their time to keep the park beautiful and vibrant. McKinney Falls used to have a friends group, but it’s fallen apart in recent years. Now a group of Austinites are trying to bring it back. 

An event is being held at McKinney Falls State Park on Friday, October 13th from 5pm to 8pm in order to bring together anyone who is interested in making this dream a reality. The event will feature a free mountain bike riding tour from 5pm to 6pm, followed by free food, a seed ball making activity, and plenty of brainstorming. 

In addition to raising money for the park, the goal behind this friends group is to bring in more millennials, empowering young people to grow into Austin’s future environmental leaders. Everyone who gets involved at this early stage will have the opportunity to help shape the group and create a new model for creating engaging, exciting, and effective friends groups that can be modeled across the state. More info>>